Chelsea and England defender Reece James could reportedly be at risk of missing Euro 2024 due to his latest injury setback.
The luckless right-back has endured a horrendous time with fitness issues over the past couple of years and sustained a new hamstring injury during last weekend's 2-0 loss to Everton at Goodison Park.
After sending James for scans, Chelsea confirmed that their captain had damaged his hamstring and would immediately begin his rehabilitation process, but they did not put a timeframe on his recovery.
However, James's problem could supposedly take at least a couple of months to heal fully, and Chelsea have also not ruled out an operation as they attempt to banish his injury demons once and for all.
Should the 24-year-old indeed be forced to go under the knife, the Evening Standard reports that his Euro 2024 dreams could crash and burn if he is unable to prove his fitness to Gareth Southgate in the months leading up to the tournament.
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The report adds that Chelsea are "braced for bad news" over their club captain, who signed a contract extension until 2028 last September, and there are fears that he will not be at Southgate's disposal next summer.
James is believed to be desperate to recover in time for the Euros, having been forced to miss last year's World Cup due to a knee injury, and he only played one game for England in 2023, coming off the bench in March's Euro 2024 qualifying win over Italy.
The defender failed to make Southgate's subsequent four squads, although he took the decision to sit out November's fixtures against Malta and North Macedonia as he worked his way back up to full fitness from a previous hamstring injury.
James missed nine games for Chelsea between August and October with his earlier injury and has been limited to the same number of appearances for Pochettino's team this season, including a mere five Premier League starts.
Since making his debut for England in 2020, James has won 16 caps for his nation and was a part of their Euro 2020 squad, although his only appearance at the tournament came in a goalless draw against Scotland.
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England only have two friendlies pencilled in for their 2024 schedule before the Euros, as Southgate's men will take on Brazil and Belgium at Wembley on March 23 and 26 respectively before facing Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia in Group C.
Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier are already above James in the right-back pecking order, while Manchester City duo John Stones and Rico Lewis are alternative options on that side of the backline.
Southgate also has the option of bringing Ben White back in from the cold, but the Arsenal man has not been called up for England since the 2022 World Cup, where he left the camp for personal reasons.
James could be one of 12 absentees when Chelsea resume their Premier League campaign at home to Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon, where the Blues will seek to improve on a dissatisfactory 12th-placed ranking in the table.
Ben Knapton
